1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates generally to film magazines and, more particularly, to an improved extended capacity film magazine assembly for use with a camera.
2. Description of Related Art
Increasing the amount of film available in a camera for use in many situations, such as in underwater photography, has long been a factor in the design of such cameras, or in magazines adapted for use with such cameras. Available cameras, including those useful for underwater photography, generally are constructed with the same basic components, including a camera body and lens, sealed together in such a manner that the camera includes one or more sealed compartments for holding and protecting various mechanisms in the camera, as well as film advanced through the camera.
As pointed out in U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,369 ('369), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by this reference thereto, the most popular underwater cameras currently in use are thirty-five millimeter, with the most widely used and known of these being that manufactured by Nikon Corporation and sold under the brand name NIKONOS V. Furthermore, as pointed out in this '369 patent, the NIKONOS V and other available underwater cameras are typically limited to a maximum film size or capacity of a thirty-six exposure roll of film. The problems discussed in the '369 patent regarding the limited size of the rolls of films and, therefore, the number of pictures which could be taken with known underwater cameras, or a plurality of such cameras, were somewhat alleviated by the enlarged magazine, hinged to the back of a camera, of the '369 patent. However, this magazine does not solve all of the existing problems discussed in the '369 patent, and raises further problems because of its expense, complexity and difficulty in use. Therefore, there still exists a need in the camera art for an easy to load extended film magazine adapted for connection to known cameras, and in particular, cameras for use underwater, which magazine is more economical to manufacture and capable of holding an extended length of film, at least as long as that disclosed in the '369 patent.
A disadvantage of present magazines for cameras, such as the magazine disclosed in the '369 patent, is that these magazines contain separate inner and outer housings which must snugly fit into each other, thereby requiring careful and costly machining of both of the housings.
A further disadvantage of the present magazines for cameras, such as the magazine disclosed in the '369 patent, is the economic waste that occurs because the separate housings thereof require the use of more materials, as well as electrical and mechanical components, such as the operating motor and circuit, switches, gears and certain other parts thereof. These extra components make the magazine more expensive as well as more complicated and difficult to manufacture and use. In cameras destined for use underwater, any magazine to extend the length of the film used therein, must necessarily be as uncomplicated as possible.
Finally, the feel and weight of these known magazines with their multiple housings and complicated operating parts does not allow for easy, sustained loading and use of such cameras and magazines underwater.